1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a skate for jumping. More particularly, the invention relates to improved in-line roller skates, improved ice skates, and improved conventional roller skates, which provide effective energy storage/release to enable the relatively high jump, controlled landing, and reduced impact.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Spring-assisted skates are disclosed in the patent art. Most of these prior arts use small springs and claim shock absorbing characteristics. Only a couple of prior arts claim jump-assisting characteristics. Such skates are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,597,792 issued to E. A. Hoff et al (1926); 4,351,538 issued to Berta (1982); and 5,503,413 issued to Belogour (1996). These prior arts include an ice skate, a conventional roller skate, and an in-line roller skate. Each of the skates comprises components including a boot, a surface-engaging blade or roller assembly (hereinafter referred to as the surface engager), and a means using spring(s) for shock absorbing or jump assistance.
In general, these prior spring-assisted skates fall into the following disadvantages:
(a) No effective rotational control of the surface engager from the boot. In particular, the surface engager is allowed to rotate with respect to the boot, thus a skater cannot select a specific part of the surface engager to initiate a jump or support a landing. In other words, a skater's jump is limited to certain ways, and the landing becomes more difficult because of the uncertain orientation of the surface engager.
(b) No significant storage/release of energy to assist a jump because only small spring deformation is practical for these prior arts. Based on their design configurations, prior arts may further lose control of surface engagers and skate structural integrity if relatively large spring deformation is adopted.